What role does "anointing" play in Exodus 29:2 and our spiritual journey? Anointing in Exodus 29:2: the snapshot Exodus 29:2: “Along with it you are to bring unleavened bread, cakes of bread mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil, made from fine wheat flour.” - The consecration meal for Aaron and his sons is soaked—inside and out—with oil. - Unleavened, fine-flour bread pictures purity; the oil pictures the Spirit’s empowering presence. - Eating the oil-rich bread sealed the priests’ new, Spirit-enabled calling. Layers of meaning behind the oil 1. Consecration - Oil marked people or objects as belonging wholly to God (Exodus 30:30; Leviticus 8:10-12). - The priests consumed what had been anointed; their very lives became set apart. 2. Empowerment - David’s anointing released the Spirit’s power for service (1 Samuel 16:13). - Jesus was “anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). 3. Communion - Bread signals fellowship (Leviticus 24:5-9; John 6:35). - Oil within and upon the bread pictures life saturated—not merely dabbed—with the Spirit. Christ fulfils the pattern - “God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness” (Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9). - He is the unleavened Bread from heaven (John 6:33). - At His baptism the Spirit descended and remained (Matthew 3:16), confirming Him as the perfectly anointed High Priest. What the anointing means for us - We share His anointing (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 1 John 2:20, 27). - We are a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). - The Spirit is within (mixed in) and upon (spread over) our lives, enabling: - Holiness—rejecting the “leaven” of sin (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). - Service—Spirit-empowered gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12). - Fellowship—continual communion with God and His people (Acts 2:42). Living out the anointing - Feed daily on the Word as the priests ate the consecration bread (Jeremiah 15:16). - Rely on the Spirit rather than mere effort (Galatians 5:16-25). - Walk in consecration, remembering you are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). - Spread the fragrance of Christ wherever you go (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). In summary The oil-laden bread of Exodus 29:2 teaches that anointing is God’s own mark, power, and presence. Through Christ we receive that same Spirit, enabling us to live consecrated, empowered, communion-filled lives for His glory. |
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